Her Luke
by xxPurpleStars3xx
Summary: Two years after "A Year in the Life" Jess comes back to Stars Hollow for a few days to catch up with Luke. But nothing is ever easy with Jess, especially where Rory Gilmore-and her new child-is involved. Chaos, romance and family come together for this story about two people finding their way back to each other.
1. Jess Comes to Town

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.**

It was two years later when Jess Mariano appeared back in Stars Hollow to visit his uncle. They hadn't seen each other in a while, and Jess was getting a little bit homesick—though Jess would never admit it.

He walked into Luke's diner and noticed a familiar brown-haired girl sitting at one of the tables silently reading, a book in her hand and a baby in a carrier on the table while Luke walked around and served people.

"Hey, uh, Jess," Luke said, noticing his nephew standing with his stuff on his back.

Rory Gilmore's head snapped up from her book to see her ex-boyfriend, good friend, and the reason she had written her book, standing at the door, staring at her.

"Hey," Jess replied, not sure whether he was speaking to the girl whom he had been in love with since he had moved to Stars Hollow, or his uncle.

Luke looked between the his nephew and step-daughter just staring at each other.

 _Yeah, totally not over that,_ Luke thought sarcastically, remembering the last words that Jess had said to him last time he was in town.

The customers had also noticed the (sexual) tension in the diner. Most of the town was still the same gossip-y people they had always been, obsessed with relationships and who was with whom. Luke noticed this and took Jess by the shoulders, leading him outside.

"So, bud, have you check into the Inn, yet?" Luke asked.

"Nah, no," Jess answered, shaking his head. "Lorelai wouldn't let me check in, since it was only noon." Luke chuckled at his wife's antics. "Couldn't really expect anything less of Lorelai Gilmore, Inn Owner."

"No, no you couldn't."

"How…um…how is she?"

"You two haven't kept up?" Luke was surprised. As far as he had known, Jess and Rory had always kept up, even through their busy lives.

"You look surprised," Jess noticed.

"Well, I just didn't expect you to ask. I expected you to be, well, informed."

Jess shrugged one shoulder. It's not like they _hadn't_ talked…it had just been a few weeks…or six months.

"Lives get busy, especially hers." Jess nodded to the one-year-old baby girl in the black carrier back in the diner that Rory was now trying to calm down. "People don't keep in touch for a while."

"Well, you'll get to catch up now, anyway."

Luke couldn't say he wasn't nervous. Jess around Rory was always a dangerous situation, one that Lorelai was rarely comfortable with.

"Yep," Jess said.

They stood in awkward silence until Luke remembered he had to get back to serving people.

"I'll call Lorelai and see if she'll let you check-in early. You know, you're welcome on the couch," he said.

"With Rory sleeping down the hall and Lorelai upstairs?" Jess questioned. Luke nodded to the side once. "Exactly."

"Well, come to the house when you're unpacked at the Inn and settled from the trip to New York."

"Will do." Jess turned around and started back towards his car, but stopped, taking one last look at Rory. "You never answered how she was."

"Tired" was all that Luke said.

"Babies will do that to you."

Jess finally turned his back to the girl he would see at Luke and Lorelai's house for dinner in five hours. He drove away from the town towards Lorelai and Suki's Inn, for the second time that day, hoping that Lorelai would let him check in and relax now that he had seen Luke.

Lorelai looked up from the check-out book when she heard the Inn's door open. She stopped when she saw Jess with his stuff again.

"Jess, I told you not until three," she said.

"Luke called you. Can I please check in? I'm tired and I'd like a nap before dinner," Jess said.

Lorelai sighed. Luke _had_ called her and told her to let Jess check-in…and that Rory and Jess had noticed each other.

"Fine. Our only clean, available room right now is upstairs and the first door on the right. Take a shower, a nap, and I'll see you at the house for dinner."

Jess took the room key from his aunt's hand.

"Nice to see you too, Lorelai," Jess said, and went upstairs.

Lorelai watched her nephew go up the stairs to take a nap. Jess looked tired from his drive from Philadelphia. But the main thing she was worried about was the face-to-face encounter that he and her daughter had earlier.

Jess didn't scare her as much as he used to. Now there was really nothing to be scared of because he and Rory didn't seem to want to get back together.

Besides, Rory had a kid with a guy that Jess hated. Even if Rory and him _wanted_ to be together, she didn't think they would. Jess hated Logan and that would cause huge problems when Logan would come to visit Rory and Madeline.

Logan had wanted to be involved in Madeline's life from the moment Rory had told him. Logan's wife hated the fact that Logan had cheated on her their entire engagement and gotten another girl pregnant, but ultimately, she figured that if something like that had happened to her, she'd want the father to be in their child's life, too. Logan flew to the U.S. every chance he could to see his little girl, even throughout Rory's pregnancy.

Lorelai calmed down a little at the thought of Logan. Logan still loved Rory, and Rory obviously still had feelings for Logan, despite her declarations that she didn't. If Logan was around a lot then Jess wouldn't want to be with Rory. She knew that feeling happy about that thought was awful, because Rory should be happy, no matter who she's with.

" _If you think he's the great love of your life…"_ Lorelai had once told Rory.

No.

No, she wouldn't think anymore of her nephew and daughter's relationship—friendship, romance or none at all. It would give her more bad feelings and she didn't want that right now.

"Jess check-in?" Suki asked, coming out from the kitchen.

"Yep," Lorelai said.

"How long's he staying?"

"A few days, maybe a week."

"He's not a bad guy, Lorelai. It's okay to like the kid."

"I _do_ like him."

"No you don't," Michelle said, walking past the front desk to grab a snack from the kitchen.

"I do, I just don't like the drama he caused with Rory."

"Well he's not here long enough to stir up any trouble. Don't get your panties in a twist," Suki said. "He coming over for dinner tonight?"

"And the rest of the week," Lorelai added.

"Lorelai, it's not like anything will happen between him and Rory. Rory's too focused on Maddie and it's not like Jess will want anything to do with Logan."

Lorelai nodded and went back to checking the book, but kept her ear slightly tilted towards the stairs in case anything happened with Jess before dinner.

 **Aaah, feels so glad to be back and writing again! Sorry for the hiatus! I feel like Jess is Rory's Luke, so that's what this story is about. I hope you guys liked the first chapter and I can't wait for you to read the rest!**


	2. Dinner Time!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.**

When Lorelai left the Dragonfly for dinner at her house, Jess still hadn't arisen from his nap. While Jess had become more reliable since his teen years, Lorelai didn't see him getting up anytime soon.

But fifteen minutes after she arrived back home, Jess knocked on the door. Lorelai opened it.

"Sorry, I'm late," he said, walking inside to the kitchen. "I didn't hear my phone go off I was so tired."

"Late night partying?" Lorelai asked humorously.

"Lorelai…," Luke warned.

"The guys from my publishing house and I threw a little shindig last night and they wouldn't let me go. I got about six hours of sleep after a long, hard day yesterday and then drove up here," Jess said.

"What's going on?" Rory said, coming out of her room. She stopped when she saw Jess.

"Hey," he said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Hi," Rory replied.

There was an awkward silence.

"I'm gonna let you guys talk," Lorelai said, going into the kitchen to help Luke cook, even though she knew she couldn't help at all.

Rory motioned for Jess to sit down on the couch. He did and she followed.

"We haven't talked in a while," she noted.

"I know. Lives get busy, especially yours." Jess nodded to her bedroom. "How's the motherly life?"

"Hard," Rory said. "Most of the time I don't know whether I'm a good mom or not."

"Hey." Jess put his hand on Rory's knee. "I'm sure you're doing a great job. I'm sure your mom felt the same way when she was raising you. You have a great team behind you, helping you in any way that they can."

Rory looked down and smiled.

Same old Jess.

"Madeline's a fine name. You never told me her name," he said. "Named after the book character, no less."

"Oh, like you wouldn't name your child the same way," Rory laughed.

"Probably. But children don't seem in the future."

"Career?"

"No one to share a life with."

A silence fell over the two. Once upon a time, Rory thought that they might work. That the two same-yet-different people would be together for a long time.

But things change, no one knew that better than Rory.

"You'll find her someday," she said after a moment. "Anybody would be lucky to have you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

 _Then why didn't you?_ Jess thought.

"Dinner!" Lorelai called from the kitchen into the living room.

"Great," Jess said, getting up quickly and turning towards the kitchen, "what are we having?"

"Chicken parmesean," Luke replied as Rory joined the three in the kitchen. Luke was readying everybody's plates.

"Luke, I honestly don't know how we survived without you cooking in the house every night," Rory told her step-father.

"Honestly, me neither."

Jess laughed a little at that as he sat down to dinner. The baby girl he had seen sitting in the carrier earlier today was now in a high chair, baby food all over her face.

"Oh Madeline!" Rory said, but laughed. "Maddie, this is Mommy's friend, Jess. Jess, this is Maddie. Maddie, can you wave?"

Madeline waved at Jess and Jess smiled back.

"Want anything to drink?" Rory asked him.

"Water's fine," he said.

Rory grabbed him a glass of water and then sat down to dinner with Luke and her mom.

"So, how's the Inn doing, Lorelai?" Jess asked. "From what I saw earlier, business is booming."

"It's good," Lorelai said. "Running a business with just a few people at the helm is tough. Nobody should know that more than you."

Jess nodded, grateful that Lorelai understood.

"But as long as you enjoy what you're doing, it's not bad," Jess said.

"No, it's not."

"You should go horseback riding at the Inn. It's completely cool," Rory suggested.

"I'll look into it," Jess said.

"Mommy," Madeline said, reaching towards her mother who sat to her right while Jess sat to her left. "Mommy."

"Yes, Maddie, Mommy," Rory agreed.

"Daddy," Madeline said, pointing to Jess.

And suddenly, everybody but Madeline blanched and the room fell in awkward silence. Now, Logan didn't visit that much. He had a wife, another baby on the way, and he lived in another country running a business, so it wasn't like he could just jump on a flight anytime he wanted to see his daughter. They spoke plenty on Skype, but Madeline had never once called somebody else but Logan "Daddy."

Jess started stuffing his face with food, then.

"Mmm, this is great, Uncle Luke. Really great," he said, trying to break the silence.

"Well, thanks, Jess," Luke said, also trying to break the awkward silent that had fallen over the room.

"Daddy," Madeline cried again. "Up, up."

Rory picked her up instead, bringing her into her bedroom and putting her in her crib.

"I-I should probably go," Jess said.

"I think that would be for the best," Lorelai said.

"Mom," Rory said at the same time that Luke said, "Lorelai!"

"No, no, it's fine," Jess protested. "I didn't know how dinner was going to go anyway. I got about half a chicken eaten and some water which is enough for me. If I get hungry later I'll just drive down to the closest fast food place."

"Jess, wait, don't go," Rory said.

"I'll see you all later."

Jess left, which made Madeline cry, and dinner was even more awkward than before.

"Mom, you were completely out of line," Rory told her mother.

"No, I wasn't. I was just saying that Jess leaving was for the best. She obviously misses Logan, and calling Jess 'Daddy' isn't good for her," Lorelai said.

"Lorelai, you could've let him stay," Luke said.

But Lorelai stood her ground. She knew that Jess had become a better man after fifteen years. She knew that he grew up, that he matured, that he had turned into a good guy. He might've changed into somebody that Lorelai might let her daughter date if Lorelai hadn't known Jess since before he broke Rory's heart all those years ago.

It's not like she didn't know Rory and Jess kept in touch. She did, but whenever she asked how Jess was out of politeness to her daughter and husband, they both replied with "He's fine" just to make her happy. They both knew she wasn't his biggest fan by far and they both knew that by bringing him up, she'd be opening up a can of worms that she didn't want opened.

"You don't like Jess, you've never liked Jess. You just didn't want him in the house or the Inn, and Madeline _accidentally_ calling him her father was just icing on the cake!" Rory shouted.

"You're right, I've never been his biggest fan, but I don't believe Jess being here while Madeline wants Logan is going to be good," Lorelai replied.

"So my daughter makes _one mistake_ and you throw out one of my best friends?"

"No, _Lane_ is one of your best friends. _Paris_ is one of your best friends. _Jess_ is _not_ your best friend. He is a guy that you once thought you were in love with and when he crushed your heart you two decided you two could be pals."

"Guys, it's been a long day and what just happened was an accident," Luke interjected, trying to play peace-maker between the mother-daughter duo. "I think we just need to take a breather, maybe eat a little, and then discuss this like the adults we are later."

"Fine, but I'm eating in my room with my daughter who made a mistake." Rory took her plate and fork inside her room, but said before she closed the door, "You know, it's not like Logan can just fly over whenever he feels like it. Madeline rarely sees her father not through a screen. Forgive her for hoping that for a second her father was here and not in another country with another woman."

The door closed behind Rory and Lorelai stared at Luke.

"Don't say anything," she said.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Luke said as the two finished dinner in silence.

Jess went back to the Inn that night, but not before grabbing some snacks at his old Walmart work place from his teens. He was hungry. Scarfing down half of dinner wasn't good.

He laid in bed that night eating, thinking about all the scenarios that might have happened if he had been a better man all those years ago.

A man that Rory had deserved.

Maybe then Madeline could be his. Maybe then the word "Daddy" coming out of an mouth that was an exact replica of Rory's wouldn't have made his heart sink, but his heart float in the air.

But he couldn't change time, no matter how much he wanted to. He still loved Rory, even after all these years.

" _You and I are supposed to be together. I've known it since the first moment I met you two years ago."_

He had said the words to her back in her Yale days, and never once regretted them. He thought of them often, the words, the memories of him and Rory, the past.

He wondered if she remembered them, too. She probably didn't, considering how she had said she didn't want to be with him at the time. She didn't want him, not then and not now.

There was no text or email from her that night, but she still stayed on his mind throughout the night and into his dreams.

 **Update, yay!**

 **FYI: Yes, Lorelai's going to be a bit terrible to Jess for a while, but you've got to understand, we don't know how much of Jess's changes Lorelai knows of. We don't know how many times she's seen or heard about him from Luke or Rory in those years between the series finale and the revival (Rory really never talked about him to Lorelai after the breakup), so this is my take on her relationship with Jess right now.**

 **While the story will be about Jess and Rory's way back to each other, it will also be about Lorelai understanding more about Jess. Bye!**


	3. The Day After

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.**

Rory had given Maddie to Miss Patty early to take care of, considering how behind deadline—and how tired—Rory was. She would've left her with Lorelai or Luke, but a screaming baby at any of their work places was a bad idea. At least Patty took the day off from dance lessons.

Rory was surprised when Jess walked into the newsroom the following morning. She was expecting that Jess would leave town as soon as he could after how dinner last night ended.

"Hey," he said nonchalantly as he leaned against the doorway.

"Hi," she said, looking up from her computer to Jess.

"Look, I'm sorry—"

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Rory asked him. "You're not the one who doesn't know who doesn't know what her father looks like. But I showed her a picture, and I think she understands better, now."

"How often does she see Logan?"

Jess sat down on chair on the other side of Rory's desk. The other two employees were asleep on their desks. Rory had told Jess she was pregnant about halfway through, when they were still talking. Jess had immediately guessed Logan and when Rory asked how he knew, Jess had told her—just like he had all those years ago at the restaurant—that he knew her better than anybody.

"Not much." Rory slumped down in her chair, obviously upset. "We Skype as much as possible, and if Logan can come over, it's great, but now his wife's pregnant, so we're going to have even less time than before."

"I'm sure he loves you and Maddie," Jess insisted. "He'd be crazy not to."

"Wow, and you never liked him, either."

"You _have_ to have known that reason, right?"

Rory looked down and played with her hands and nodded.

"Anyway, how's the book, going? You haven't talked to me about it since I left two years ago," Jess moved on.

Rory sat up straighter, glad the awkward part of the morning was over.

"It's coming along slowly. With all that's going on, it's hard to find time to sleep, much less write," she answered.

"How far in your life are you?"

"My European trip the summer after high school."

"Does your mom ever read it?"

"I'm not letting her read it until after it's finished."

"Will you let me read it? You know, the one who gave you the idea?"

Rory thought about that a moment. She had written a little bit about Jess in it, just how her mother and her had handled her relationship with Jess. She didn't necessarily know if she wanted to show Jess those parts. She didn't want Jess to know what had gone on behind the scenes of their relationship, though she highly suspected that Jess knew more than what he let on.

He had always been an aloof boy around everyone but her, but his relationship with Lorelai was the worst relationship he had ever had. Rory didn't necessarily think it was the best idea to show him how much fighting went on between Rory and Lorelai once Jess had gotten into town.

Jess seemed to get this and suggested, "Or, you know, I don't have to read all of it. Just parts. No high school, just middle and elementary."

Rory smiled at the boy who still made her heart race. Whom, as they both already knew, knew her better than anybody. She nodded.

"I'd like that," she finally said. Jess sat back in the chair and stretched. "Good night's sleep?"

"Yeah, though the smell of Suki's delicious breakfast made me wake up earlier than usual," he said.

"You didn't have breakfast at Luke's?"

"No. I mean, I love Luke's food, but Suki's is…"

"Better?" Rory finished, and Jess nodded. "Well, she is a gourmet chef."

"With a knack for breakfast."

They both laughed and smiled. Jess looked around and smacked the arms of the chair.

"I should let you get back to work," he stated. "I'll see you at dinner later?"

"Wait, what are you doing the rest of the day?" Rory inquired.

Jess shrugged. "Walk around the town and see everybody, get bitten by a swan again? Maybe ride the horses at the Inn."

"Okay, but be home for dinner."

"Wouldn't miss Luke's cooking for the world."

"Hey, talk to him and make sure he's okay. Neither of us were happy at Mom last night—"

Jess held up a hand and Rory shut up.

"I don't know why Madeline said what she did last night, but I do know that your mother was probably already on the edge with me last night. We all know she and I don't have the best relationship and Maddie calling me her father last night took her over the edge."

"But you shouldn't have left. It wasn't your fault."

"Aunt Lorelai was uncomfortable, and honestly, I was too."

"Because of Madeline saying what she did?" Rory asked.

"Not only because of that, but because Lorelai is still mad at me for twenty years ago."

"But that's all in the past."

"Is it?" Jess asked. "Is it all in the past?"

"Jess…," Rory warned, knowing they were entering into dangerous territory.

"Lorelai is still mad at what I did twenty years ago. She knows that I've changed, but to her I will _always_ be that guy who fractured your wrist in the car accident. I will _always_ be the guy that made you and Dean break up. I will _always_ be the guy that ran when things got tough until I was old enough to understand the consequences. I will _always_ be the guy that broke your heart."

Rory looked down. She knew he was right. She knew he was right about everything.

"That part of my life is over," Rory finally said. "It's in my past and I'm looking forward. Maybe…maybe one day we could have something again. I know I can always count on you now, like you said back at Yale, but everything's changed since then. Just…not right now. Can you give me some time? Wait until I decide what I want?"

Jess didn't know how to respond to that. On one hand, she was saying what they had was in the past. Part of her was saying she didn't want to revisit those old times.

But the other part? The part that made his heart swoon? It was her asking him for time. For a possible second chance. Jess took Rory's hands in his.

"Always," he said, and left for Luke's Diner.

Rory sat back in her seat and sighed.

Jess was a great guy. He had changed so much over the years, but she was so busy now with Maddie and work and her book. When would she have time for an actual relationship?

And with Jess?

Lorelai would say she was crazy going back to Jess. Going back to the guy who just left all those years ago. That he didn't deserve her.

But Rory had always been one to move forward and never look back. She hadn't gone back to Jess at Yale when he asked. The only second chance she ever gave was to Logan, and she didn't know if that was necessarily a mistake or not.

"Dude was a punk," Esther said. "I never liked him."

Rory put her head in her hands. She had. She had even thought she loved him at one point.

Could she give him a second chance? Maybe. Possibly.

She had always wanted that, she secretly knew. She knew that nobody would like it—not Lorelai, not Emily, she wasn't even sure if Luke would've been okay with them dating.

"I need to talk a walk," Rory said, and without a second glance towards her coworkers, she grabbed her jacket and walked across the square to Miss Patty's.

"Hey," she greeted Miss Patty and Madeline.

"Rory, I didn't expect you until later," Miss Patty said.

"Just missed my girl, that was all."

"Well, here you go. When are you going to put here in lessons?"

"Patty, she's a year old."

Miss Patty shook her finger and said, "You can never be too young."

Rory rolled her eyes as Miss Patty walked away to grab some lunch at the diner. Rory turned back to her giggling daughter.

"Hey," she said.

"Mama," Madeline replied.

Rory smiled at her daughter and held her.

"Don't make the same mistakes I did," she said.

She knew Madeline wouldn't understand what she said even if she could understand what Rory said half the time. Rory didn't even understand what she meant by that.

Was it about getting pregnant by fooling around with some guy you were once in love with? Was it about staying away from married guys?

Was it about giving up on a guy when you knew, deep down inside, you still wanted him?

Rory didn't know, and while Rory didn't understand what she meant, she knew that one day she would. Madeline would, too.

She knew that Madeline would grow up and meet boys. She knew—like Lorelai did Rory—that a guy like Jess was in his teens would come around some day and sweep her off her feet.

"No," Maddie replied, still giggling.

Rory continued to smile down at her little bundle of sunshine. While the pregnancy hadn't been the easiest; while telling her grandmother, Logan and everybody else was definitely hard, she wouldn't change it for the world.

Emily didn't even know how to respond when she found out Rory was pregnant. It wasn't like it was Lorelai again. Rory was in her thirties and not sixteen. Rory wasn't a rebellious teenager like her mother was, and Rory had a great support team behind her.

She knew where everybody fit into her life. She knew where her mother and Luke fit. She knew where Emily and Richard fit. She knew where the town, Logan, her friends and her job fit.

Her life was like a puzzle. Every single piece of the puzzle fit together. But just like every puzzle, there's that one piece that you have no idea where it fits.

Rory figured out where Jess was in the puzzle the first time he saw her after she had graduated from Yale. He was the top edge between the middle and the corner. The place you started, the place you knew that could always be counted on in the end.

Rory wasn't sure he belonged there anymore.

She had told him to give her time. Give her time to get her life together. Give her time to figure out what she wanted.

Give her time to figure out if she wanted Jess to be in her life more than just a note or passing visit.

Jess's piece of the puzzle had now moved towards the center, the feeling of unknown territory, and Rory felt like she was drowning.


	4. Dinner Round 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.**

 **Hey, guys, I know it's been a while, but I just wanted to say I am sorry. Life has been hectic and I appreciate you guys for staying with me. I will be posting more, hopefully, really soon.**

Jess hesitantly knocked on the door to the house for the second time in two nights. It was even scarier the second night, just because of what happened the night before, even though he and Rory had talked about it this afternoon didn't make it any less awkward..

"It's open!" Rory yelled from the living room where she was holding Madeline. She wanted to be near Jess when he entered the house, playing peacemaker between her mother and Jess.

Jess walked into the room and smiled when he saw Rory sitting there. She smiled too, and then got up and hugged him, putting Madeline down first, however.

"Mom, Luke, Jess is here!" she shouted into the kitchen.

"Oh, no, I didn't hear the door open," Lorelei said sarcastically from the kitchen she stood in with her husband. Luke shot her a glare. "What?"

"Just…try to be nice tonight. Last night wasn't his fault," he said, stirring his pasta sauce.

"But it's so hard."

"It isn't when you realize that your granddaughter made a mistake and you realize you are not the perfect example of a mother and daughter pair."

Jess looked at Rory, who had her eyebrows raised. They looked at each other and entered the kitchen. Rory put her daughter in the high chair and sat down herself as Luke dished out the penne and sauce evenly onto everyone's plates.

Dinner was tense, to say the least. Last night's tension still clouded over dinner, occasional looks at Madeline made the baby nervous, however, when Jess spoke. Plus, the fight between Luke and Lorelei was still in the air.

Finally, Lorelei put her fork down and said, "What do you mean Rory and I aren't the perfect example of a mother and daughter pair?"

"I just meant that both of you guys have made mistakes in your relationship, that's all," Luke said, focused more on his pasta than his wife.

"And how does that relate last night, exactly?"

"Let's be honest here, her father was gone most of her life, popping in and out every now and then, new stepmother, half-sister. Madeline rarely sees her father and will have a new sibling in just a few months. I'm sure Rory hasn't been the perfect daughter and neither will Maddie."

"But Rory never called anybody else 'Daddy'," Lorelei pointed out.

"Listen, all I'm saying is that she made a mistake and surely we'll all laugh about it in years to come, but right now, let's enjoy this pasta," Luke said calmly.

"Who wants more peas?" Rory blurted out. She turned to Jess. "Jess?"

"Oh, yeah, totally," Jess said, taking the bowl of peas from Rory and scooping some onto his plate.

"Jess!" Madeline yelled and clapped.

The tension was lowered slightly when Madeline didn't say the "D" word, but that didn't make Lorelei and Luke's argument less important.

Luke and Jess just sat, watching back and forth as the married couple fought about Rory, Lorelei and Madeline.

"STOP IT!" Rory shouted finally, having enough of the yelling. "Maddie made a mistake. She obviously has learned from it, we're talking to Logan tomorrow, she knows who her father is, and she knows it isn't Jess. She's still learning. Yes, all of us Gilmore girls have made mistakes, but we've all learned from them. So let's shut up and have a nice dinner."

That shut the entire room up. Jess shot her a congratulatory smile and Rory blushed, smiling back, something that didn't go unnoticed by Lorelei.

Dinner was quiet the rest of the night. Luke and Rory tried to get Jess to stay for a movie, but he claimed that he had had a long day of riding horses and needed to get work done back in his room.

"The whole reason for this trip was so you could get _away_ from work," Luke debated.

"Yeah, but the guys need me to help on something. They've been texting all night for this one thing," Jess said.

"Jess, just stay for two hours. Just a quick movie," Rory offered.

"I'm good, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast, Lorelei and I'll stop by at the newspaper to actually see you in action, and maybe read some of that book?"

Rory and Lorelei nodded and Luke gave his nephew a hug. All three waved goodbye.

Rory carried Maddie into her bedroom, not once looking back at her mother and step-father. Not once caring that tomorrow she had to face Maddie's father. Not _once_ caring that she was crying.

Her mother had, once again, ruined a perfectly good night. And she knew that she had to make it up to her ex soon, or he might run before she figured out if she wanted him or not.

In the car on the way back to the inn, Jess got into his car. He took one last look at the Gilmore residence and drove back to the quaint place he was staying. He parked in a tight space, and looked both ways as he got out of the car, ready to cross the street.

Street lamps were on and he saw no cars in sight. Well, until a car came barreling down the gravel road, the driver drunk as could be, and Jess didn't get out of the way fast enough.


	5. The Hospital

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.**

Rory didn't expect her life to be perfect when she was little. She knew not having her father around all the time would be a big deal because everybody else's father was, but she was fine. She knew as long as she had her mother things would be fine.

Plus, it wasn't like he was an ocean away.

Rory laid in bed the night of the second dinner with Jess, staring at Madeline. When Rory had told Logan that she was pregnant, they both knew that she was the one that was going to take care of the baby and that Logan would be there, in the flesh or through computer screen.

Rory knew she a somewhat absentee father, and with Logan's visits scarce and far between, Rory wasn't sure that Maddie would end up like her.

Honestly, she tried to be a good mother, she did. But it was getting harder as the time went on, even with her mother's, Luke's, and the town's help.

She missed Logan, she did, no matter that he was six hours ahead, an ocean away and he had a wife.

Madeline didn't _need_ a father figure every day. Rory didn't _need_ a guy to validate her self worth, but every now again she would think about the fact that she missed a warm body next to her, somebody that wasn't a parental figure or kid in her life to eat with.

Someone who could love her unconditionally.

"WHAT?!" Rory sat up as she heard her stepfather yell from upstairs.

She ran out of bed and up the stairs to Lorelai and Luke's room.'

"What happened?" she asked.

"Jess got hit by a drunk driver," Luke said, covering the mouthpiece of his phone.

Tears came to Rory's eyes and Lorelai turned to her daughter.

"Yeah,. Yeah, yeah, yeah," Luke said. "We'll be right there. Okay. Bye."

He hung up the phone and started putting on real clothes to go to the hospital. Lorelai looked at her daughter, knowing that Rory's heart was breaking inside.

"You're going to see Jess?" Rory said.

"Yeah. Some _idiot_ drove drunk and hit him at the Inn."

"The Inn?!" Lorelai yelled. " _My_ Inn?"

Luke nodded. Rory's tears came streaming down her cheeks.

"Go," Lorelai told Rory.

"What? What about Maddie?"

"I'll watch Maddie. Go and be with Jess."

It was the first nice thing that Lorelai had done that night. She had done it so Rory could be with Jess.

Because anyone that saw Rory—with or without Jess—could just tell she wanted Jess back. And Rory knew it too, which is why she was going to tell Jess that when she saw him.

She sat in Luke's car and the two drove to the hospital, taking the quickest way possible and driving just a _little_ bit over the speed limit.

Okay, _a lot_ over the speed limit.

Luke parked in the worst way possible and Rory ran out of the car and into the hospital, Luke behind her.

"I'm Rory Gilmore, I'm looking for Jess Mariano," she told to the entry nurse.

"Are you family?" the nurse inquired.

"Well, his uncle's my stepfather."

Luke came running up to the nurse's station, huffing a little.

"She's okay," he said.

The nurse nodded and motioned for the two to follow her. After about a five minute walked, the two stepped into Jess's room, seeing him lying on a hospital bed, looking like he was in a deep sleep, except with monitors measuring his heart rate and blood pressure.

"Is he okay?" Rory asked.

The nurse pinched her lips together.

"He was hit really bad," the nurse, Jana, stated. "We're doing everything we can."

"He's a fighter," Luke said. "He's been fighting all his life. Literally and figureatively."

"I'll leave you two alone," Jana said, bowing out of the room and letting the two adults sit in the chairs next to Jess's bed.

They stared at Jess for a _long_ time before either one spoke.

"He's going to be okay," Rory said, her voice choked as tears were streaming down her face.

"He will be," Luke agreed.

"You know, they say that coma patients can hear what people are saying to them. Maybe, you know, talking to him will do him some good."

"O-Okay. C-Can I go first? Since, you know, he's—"

Rory held up her hand.

"I need coffee anyway."

Rory left her step-father to grab some coffee from a machine outside. She stopped in front of the machine, pulling change out of her wallet and watching as the coffee drained from the machine.

"You love him, don't you?" A girl came up and asked Rory.

"What?" Sleep-deprived Rory answered.

"The boy in the bed. You his girlfriend?"

The girl was in her mid-teens with brown hair and green eyes, looking as sleep-deprived as Rory was.

"His ex, and step—cousin I guess. But, yes, I do. He was here to see his uncle—my step-father—here for a few days and kinda dropped hints he would like to get back together."

"Would you?"

"Yeah, I was going to tell him tomorrow with my little girl. Too bad I might now get the chance. How'd you know?"

"The way I heard and saw you worrying about him. I was passing by to get a cup of coffee earlier, and heard the tears and saw the worry from your back. It shows on your whole body how much you care about him. First love?"

"Possibly second. I could've loved him, I don't know. But I love him now, and I know I do. He loves me and my daughter, too, which helps. What about you? Why are you here?" Rory said.

"My boyfriend was the driver. I'm _so_ sor—"

But the girl didn't get to finish her words as she took her steaming cup of coffee and stormed past the girl back into Jess's room.

Luke turned around as soon as he heard her. It was evident he had been done talking just recently.

"I met the girlfriend of the guy who hit Jess. She seemed sorry, but I didn't want to see her or the bastard who hit him," Rory explained without the question being asked. "Can I have my time with him?"

Luke nodded and left.

"I hate him, I really do," Rory said, sitting down next to Jess. She took his hands in hers. "I'm sorry that you got hurt, I really am. This whole entire mess is just so…messy…" Rory laughed. For a Journalism major she could barely come up with any words. "When I heard about you I was just thinking about how much I missed having someone in my life. How much I wanted someone to be there for me and Maddie.

"And the thing is, I don't just want anyone. Logan may be Maddy's father. She may be his flesh and blood, but _you're_ the one I want to be with now. _You're_ the one that I want next to me every day. I want to try again. I want to try to get you to be the one I wake up to every morning, at least in the end. I'm not talking marriage _now_ or anything, but, I mean, we're friends and we obviously still have feelings for each other. Deep feelings. If all ends well and you live through this, I think we should try again. Long distance may be hard, but we can do it, I know we can."

Rory sobbed into his body.

"What…about…Logan?" a small voice—Jess's voice—whispered in her ear.

"Jess?!" she shouted, loud enough for everybody to hear.

Nurses and Luke came rushing into the room, ushering Rory away to check on Jss and make sure everything was okay.

"You woke him up. Good job, Kiddo," Luke said. "What'd you say?"

Though Luke know what she said as she shrugged. He had heard the end of the one-sided conversation she had.

"I don't know, but something woke him up," Rory lied.

Jana turned around to Luke and Rory.

"I think you two should go home, get some sleep. We're going to do a few tests on him that is going to take a few hours. Come back when you're more awake and not drinking coffee. We called you late into the night, too."

Luke turned to Rory, seeing tears in her eyes. She had just gotten him back and he was going to be taken from him again, albeit only for a few hours while she slept.

"No, I'm not going anywhere," Rory stated.

"Rory, I think we're going to go home. You're tired, I'm tired, your mom and daughter are probably worried sick. We'll be back in a few hours," Luke said.

"No, I'm not going anywhere."

"Do you _want_ me to pick you up like a child, because that's what I'll do. Look, it's going to be hours. It's going to be a long time to wait. Let's go home, get the sleep that was lost, and we'll be back with your mom and Maddy in the morning."

Rory huffed and gave her Luke a death glare.

"You suck," she said, very out-of-character.

Luke shrugged.

"Let's go home."

He put his arm around her shoulder and led her out of the hospital. Both took one last look at Jess though, barely seeing him over the amount of nurses giving him attention.

Rory knew she had woken him up. She knew that she wanted to be with him, and him with her. And no matter how much she wanted to stay with him, she knew he needed his rest and she needed hers.

She knew she'd be back in eight hours, but eight hours felt like eight hours too long; like a lifetime away.

 _I love you_ , she thought as she got into Luke's car and they drove away back to the house.


	6. The Next Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.**

Eight hours later the four family members sat by Jess's side, Rory holding his hand. They had gotten a babysitter extremely late for Maddie. Thank _goodness_ for Miss Pattie.

"The guy's a jerk," Rory said.

"We'll press charges if we have to," Luke said.

" _Nobody's_ pressing charges," Lorelai said, holding her granddaughter and glaring daggers at her husband. "Business is booming and if one inkling comes out that there's a lawsuit because of something that happened at the Inn, we're screwed."

"Lorelai's right," Jess stated, "you can't press charges, especially now when things are going so great. Guy made a mistake, it happens."

Jess looked over at Rory, and that one long-lasting look with that one small squeeze of a hand said every unspoken word, every felt emotion and every understanding.

Luke saw this and quickly ushered himself and Lorelai out of the room, muttering something about going to get Lorelai her seven cups of coffee. Jess and Rory were thankful for him leaving them alone, leaving them to say everything that needed to be said.

"We almost lost you," Rory said as soon as she knew that her mother and stepfather were out of hearing perimeter. " _I_ almost lost you."

"I'm okay," Jess said. "I'll be up and out of here faster than you can finish writing that book."

Rory smiled.

"I might even let you read the pages about you in there, now."

"Pages about me, huh?" Jess teased.

"Jess Mariano, you are one of the biggest parts of my life, of _course_ you are in the book!"

She and Jess smiled at each other. She took his hand in hers.

"Maybe I can even treat you to a date?" she asked.

Jess's eyebrows shot up.

"I mean, I knew you cared, I just didn't know that you wanted to try again. That look when you first walked in made me hopeful, but I was counting on it."

"Almost losing you made me see that I couldn't live without you, friend or boyfriend."

"And Logan?"

Rory sighed.

"Logan is…tricky. You guys never like each other, and Mom will certainly have opinions, but I'm not going to let them have a say in who I date. Who is in and out of my life is _my_ choice, not theirs."

"He's not gonna like me with Maddie."

"Well he was sleeping with me when he was engaged, so that's what he gets," she said. "I mean, I see you enough as it is being my stepfather's nephew and all. Logan can deal with it like I can deal with Logan having a wife."

"It might confuse Maddie."

"Are you _looking_ for an excuse to not go out with me?"

"I'm trying to make you see from all logical points of view. Logan is going to have to deal with it, yeah, but Maddie's young and won't understand," Jess said. "I would _love_ to go on a date with you, and we will, as soon as I get out of this damn hospital bed, but let's keep this from Maddie, okay?"

Rory nodded.

"As soon as you get out," she said.

"Lorelai's not going to like this," he said.

"I don't care."

"That's one of the things I love most about you."

"Oh, you still love me, huh?"

"Never stopped."

Rory and Jess looked into each other's eyes until Rory leaned down close and Jess leaned up a little bit, melting their lips together. The kiss was meant to be quick, but it soon became deeper as Jess thrust both fists into Rory's hair.

There was a grunt and the two young adults broke apart. Standing there were the two adults, coffee in their hands, gaping at the two teens.

Lorelai said nothing and walked out. Luke didn't even make a move to go after his wife but said to Rory, "Don't break his heart again" before she ran out of the room to her mother.

"Mom!" she yelled down the corridor.

Lorelai turned around.

"So after everything— _everything_ —that boy has put you through, you're _still_ going to be with him?"

Her nostrils flared as Lorelai Gilmore stared down at her daughter.

"I make my own choices, you don't. I _want_ Luke, okay? I _want_ to be with him, Mom. You got your happily ever after with Luke, why can't I have that with Jess? _Why_ can't I have my own happy ending?"

"Because your daughter isn't even in her double digits yet! Luke and I waited until you were in high school and college before we started dating!"

"But you two didn't even like each other like that when I was Maddie's age."

"Beside the point."

"Mom, I'm going to be with Jess. There will be problems, there will be hard times, but if you and Luke can work it out, who says Jess and I can't? He's _changed_ Mom, and no matter what's happened the past several days you _refuse_ to see that. For once, Mom, _stop_ acting like an overbearing grandmother. You may have had a life where your life was planned out for you, but I didn't, and I don't care what you think about whether Jess is good for me or not because I know he is," Rory argued.

Just then, a nurse came by to see what the screaming was about.

"You guys are too loud. Either shut it or take it outside." The nurse turned away and walked back to her station. "I swear, mothers making their grown daughters' decisions' for them are the worst."

Rory huffed and went back to Jess's room. Lorelai, on the other hand, gave thought to her daughter's argument. Jess _had_ changed in the years passed since Rory was in high school. Yes, he had broken her heart and done terrible things, but he also cared about her—Lorelai could see that. Lorelai walked into Jess's room and stood at his side.

"Be good to her, Jess, or I swear I _will_ come after you," she said.

"Lorelai, I promise I won't," Jess said, smiling at Rory.

"Ugh, keep those looks for when I'm not in the room."

"No promises," Rory said.

"And I want her home by midnight every night, you hear that?" Luke asked, but grinned at his stepdaughter.

All Rory did was lay her head in her hands and groan while the three people around her laughed.


	7. Logan

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.**

 **Okay, it's just a short update for now.**

It was infuriating. Logan hadn't heard anything from Rory for a few weeks. Last time he had heard, Maddie was doing well, and they had Skype'd, but _he_ had been there.

Jess.

Jess had been there. In the same house as _his_ daughter. What did the two do? Did Rory and Jess get back together? The thought made his stomach sour, but that shouldn't matter, he was married and his wife was pregnant, he shouldn't care.

Except his daughter was with her mother and her mother's ex-boyfriend in a completely different time zone.

That had been a _month_ ago, and every time Rory and he had tried to talk or get in touch so he could see Maddie, they couldn't coordinate schedules. He _knew_ Rory wasn't trying to keep his daughter from him, she wasn't that person. Growing up with her father rarely there, he knew that.

But it always seemed that Jess was there or they were going on a date and talking to Lorelai about his daughter was just awkward and unwanted. She definitely was one to hold grudges, and while Logan had swooped his way into her good graces after years—and a granddaughter—both had mutually agreed seeing Rory with Maddie was better.

After that month of not seeing his daughter and having to deal with Rory and Jess's ever-growing rekindled relationship (would they ever get married? he wondered. Would his daughter call Jess "Dad"?), he finally decided it was enough to warrant a trip to Stars Hollow.

So, he packed up one morning, told his wife that he'd be back soon—considering she was giving birth in two months—and bought his plane tickets. He sent Rory a text telling her that she would see him soon at the nearest airport and headed to the International airport by his house.

He was going to see his daughter and ex-girlfriend nobody could stop him.

 **Hehehehehehehehe…sorry, not sorry!**


	8. Logan in Stars Hollow

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.**

 **Yeah, yeah…I know it's been a minute…**

Logan landed and headed straight out to the cabs.

"Stars Hollow," he said to the yellow cab driver.

"Do you want me to put you in the middle of the square or do you have an exact address?" the cabbie shot back.

Logan gave the man Rory's address.

It wasn't a long drive to the Gilmore house, which is why when Rory received the text from Logan that he was there she freaked out.

"Oh my GOD, Logan's coming soon!" Rory shouted.

"Honey, calm down," Lorelai said, holding her granddaughter. "Why'd he coming anyway?"

Rory could only guess at this point. Instinctively she searched for Jess's hand, which wasn't next to her. She had to remind herself that while the doctor said he could go home after a few days, she had told him to stay at the hotel until Logan went home.

"Probably just to see his daughter," she said.

"And checking on Jess," Luke grumbled and Rory's eyes widened. Her neck snapped to her stepfather, along with Lorelai's. "What?"

"He's checking up to see if you're with Jess!" Lorelai yelled at Rory.

"CRAP!" Rory yelled, making her daughter cry. Lorelai jumped Maddie on her knees, trying to calm the toddler down. "He's coming to see if I'm with Jess…oh no, this can only go terrible!"

There was a shout and a door shutting and the family froze. The four tried to be discreet while watching from the window, but it didn't do much. The doorbell rang and so Lorelai sat down with Maddie on the couch along with Luke while Rory grabbed the door and opened it to find an anxious Logan.

"Where is she? Where's my little girl?" he asked and he came into the door. There were no pleasantries or greetings, just a barge in and a look around the room.

"Here," Lorelai said, holding up Logan's daughter to him.

He sat down his suitcase and walked to quickly pick her up from Lorelai's hands.

"Daddy," she said.

"Yes, I'm Daddy," Logan responded.

"Hi," Rory said, waving her hand in front of her ex-boyfriend's face. "Logan, do you wanna explain what you're doing here out of the blue? Come to check up on me?"

"I've barely been able to see her over Skype so I can't take an impromptu—"

"No, you can't!"

Lorelai and Luke took that as their cue to leave the living room and go up to their bedroom. Lorelai took Maddie out of Logan's hands.

"I can already tell this won't be good for her ears. You can have her back when you two learn to behave," she said and followed her husband upstairs.

Logan turned around to face an angry Rory Gilmore.

"You didn't just come for her, did you?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," he lied.

"No, I think you're here because you heard that Jess is here and you're checking up on me to see if there's anything going on between Jess and I. How'd you even know?"

"Please, I heard Maddie say his name when we Skyped last week," Logan scoffed.

Rory scolded herself. She forgot about that.

"So what if I'm with him? You're married with another kid on the way. You're a hypocrite!"

"Do you not remember how he treated you when he first got to Stars Hollow, when you first got to know each other, became friends, ANYTHING?!"

"You sound like my mother!" Rory shouted back. Lorelai heard that and winced. "You…Jess is the person who inspired me to write my book, he's the one I've always talked about books to and I still love him, okay? We both want a second chance at this!"

"How well does she know him?" Logan asked.

Both noticed that they were now at the opposite sides of the room, but neither cared. They had been close at one point but with each word, Rory had moved further and further away.

"Well enough to know that _you're_ her father!" Rory yelled, exasperated. "God, Logan. I honestly hate how you think you have the right to show up, announced with a _text_ and just expect it to be okay!"

"I have a right to see my daughter and make sure that _he_ doesn't just think he can walk back into a life with a girl who has a daughter."

"I was going to see him at family functions, anyway! He's my stepdad's nephew, of course he's going to know her, whether you like it or not."

"Well, I don't like it," Logan said.

"Too bad," Rory shot back. "He's staying longer than expected. She's going to get to know him better."

"Is he at least good to her?" Logan sighed.

"Very."

Logan sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands.

"You're right that I'm a hypocrite, but I'd like to see my daughter more than I do," he said.

"You have another kid on the way, remember?" Rory reminded him.

Logan nodded and raised his head.

"She's not going to think he's her father. She knows you are. She knows he's a very special part of the family," Rory said. "And that won't change whether Jess and I are together or not. He's still going to come over."

"He lives in Philly, right?"

Rory cocked her head.

"And that has what to do with it?"

"Well, what happens when he needs to go back to work? Come on, you know you two can't keep this up unless one of you caves and he moves back here or you move there."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Oh, so you're already thinking that you're going to cross that bridge?"

"Who knows?!"

"Would you have anymore kids with him?"

"I don't know!" Rory said. "Stop asking me questions. You came here to see her, didn't you?" Logan nodded. "Then go see her because I don't want to see your face right now."

Rory sat down on the couch as Logan went upstairs to Luke and Lorelai's bedroom.

"I know you heard everything, so can I please have my daughter?" he asked through the door. The door was promptly opened and the girl handed over. He took her and walked out the backdoor to the garden and sat on the chair.

Lorelai and Luke came up behind Rory as they watched the father-daughter duo outside. Rory now had tear tracks down showing on her cheeks, and more tears were starting to make their way on the same paths.

"He just wants what's best for her," Lorelai said. "That's all parents want for their kids."

"Apparently me having a boyfriend isn't the best for her, though? He's married, however, and that makes everything okay," Rory said.

"He was engaged when you made Maddie, honey. Also, this is a guy that broke your heart when you were a teen and a guy that he's _never_ liked, so why would he be okay with his daughter around Jess?"

"Look," Luke said, "Jess is not a bad guy, you know that. Logan on the other hand…" Luke shifted his hand up and down until Lorelai shoved him. "Okay, okay, but the point is that they barely know each other, and suddenly this guy who has been in your life more than half of it comes back in and wants a second chance and you grabbed it. He just wants the best for her and you, but you know him better and know he's not as bad a guy as he was or seems."

"I can understand Logan's point, but am I being selfish by wanting to be with Jess again?" Rory asked.

"No, no, honey," Lorelai willed her daughter to understand. "You deserve happiness, too. Logan will come around...eventually…maybe…you know what, let's see what happens and then we'll circle back 'round to him being okay with you and Jess."

Rory sighed. She hated that she felt like she had decide between her daughter and her boyfriend, now.

"This sucks," Rory said, pouting.

"I know," Lorelai said, putting her hand on her daughter's back.

"We need to keep the boys apart. Hopefully Logan will be gone soon and things will be back to normal."

Luke and Lorelai nodded.

Outside, Logan was playing with his daughter. Part of himself was selfish wanting Rory to stay single so no other person could be Maddie's father. Even if he was an ocean away, he was still her daddy. But he knew that was selfish and Rory deserved happiness herself.

But Jess was trouble, he knew that much, no matter how much Rory would deny it. He wasn't here to destroy her happiness, he was there to warn her that maybe he wasn't the best person to be around, especially with their daughter around her mother all the time.

As said daughter started crying, he shushed her quietly, hoping that soon things would go back to normal. He'd go back to England to his wife and future child and hopefully Rory would break up with Jess and Maddie wouldn't be around that bad influence anymore.

Oh, if only he knew what would happen next…


End file.
